Goa Two foreigners named in ED chargesheet against seven in drugs trafficking case

New Delhi, Oct 25 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against seven persons, including a Tanzanian and a Zimbabwean national, for alleged cocaine smuggling linked to a money laundering case.
    The chargesheet was filed on October 18 by the Panaji zonal office of the federal probe agency before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Goa, the Enforcement Department (ED) said in a statement on Saturday.
    It names Tanzanian national Vedasto Audax, Zimbabwean national Tariro Brightmore Mangwana, and five Indians -- Masoom Uikey, Chirag Dudhat, Reshma Wadekar, Mangesh Wadekar and Nibu Vincent, the statement said.
    The probe stems from a Goa Police Crime Branch FIR against the alleged smuggling of 4.3 kg of cocaine into India from Laos in March 2025.
    The ED arrested the man from Zimbabwe in August after conducting country-wide raids in the case.
    Mangwana was taken into custody for his "central role" in facilitating international narcotics trafficking and laundering the proceeds of crime, the ED said.
    “He was found to have facilitated travel arrangements and financed the Indian nationals acting as drug couriers. Mangwana was also found to be receiving commission for these activities from the key accused, Audax, a Tanzanian,” it said.
    The agency had attached a house worth Rs 45.15 lakh in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal belonging to Reshma Wadekar, who allegedly carried the said cocaine from Vientiane (capital of Laos) in March.
    The probe found that the accused had links with international rackets operating from the Golden Triangle countries (Myanmar, Thailand and Laos), the Middle East, Nepal, Bangladesh, etc., according to the ED.
    Usage of shell (dummy) entities and 'benami' accounts for routing of funds was found as the modus operandi of the racket, it said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)